Made this lil' fic as a present for Sky Warrior 108. Enjoy!
And a warning: There is Tyzula to come :D
It was only when Sokka made a casual suggestion "If your spirit-energy-bending thing can take away bending, think it could give people bending?" when his friends actually put some real hard thought into the ancient and potentially lethal art, supposedly lost to time itself. If this great art of the Lion-Turtle's could manipulate a spirit into losing it's connection with an element, rendering the person unable to bend, then perhaps it could perform the opposite purpose; Perhaps it could allow a spirit to connect with the elements and bend. It was an interesting thought, to say the least. And perhaps one capable of restoring the balance.
The point was obvious; If Aang could use his newest bending talent to enable people the gift of Airbending, then the natural cycle could resume itself. Balance would truly return to the world once Air reasserted itself, and the Avatar Cycle could safely continue. After all, there would be plenty of time for Air Nomads to re-establish themselves in the time the spirit took to travel through the Water Tribes, Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation.
That is, if Sokka's theory was correct.
Of course, there were objections, mainly from Katara, Iroh and Aang himself. The young Airbender believed that manipulating another's spirit should only be a last resort to a terrible situation, not to be abused or used casually.. Katara was fearful of the massive risk that Energybending involved, as when Aang noted the corruption that had almost engulfed his very essence when fighting Ozai. And Iroh was merely cautious, not objectionable, but given his past dealings with spiritual matters, his worry about problems with the procedure of Energybending was understandable.
And the final matter: A test subject.
Who would be willing to put their spirit on the line? Who would be willing to subject themselves to the unknown, great power of Energybending? Not anyone they knew. Aang was glad that no-one did. The guilt of accidentally harming another's spirit, the worry of failure, and his own beliefs of not tampering with another in such a way weighed on him, and-
Then someone accepted the proposition that Sokka, in his rather zealous habit of doing so, had put forward.
Needless to say, Aang was rather surprised when it turned out to be none other then a certain happy little contortionist named Ty Lee.
The first question that had slipped out his mouth as the girl before him stated her purpose, the acrobat having certainly grown over the years, her body still as lithe and curved as ever, brimming with subtle muscle, and slightly taller then him, was: "Why?"
The pink-loving girl merely shrugged, though her grey eyes burnt with something that the young Avatar couldn't quite place, and replied: "I figured you could use some help. And I should pay you back after trying to hunt you down after all those years ago."
The look on her face told Aang not to speak more of that, especially after what happened to you-know-who. The acrobat was still brutally testy about that part of things. Regardless, she was insistent, and Aang, perhaps desperate for a way to restore the Airbenders, albeit reluctantly agreed.
It was the middle of Autumn Ty Lee's request was accepted by the Avatar; Autumn empowered his natural Airbender abilities with the winds of change, and he wanted to be at his strongest when he performed this new method of Energybending. And he wanted to be sure that-
"I know the risks. I still wanna go through with it. Trust me, I know what I'm doing." Ty Lee snapped with annoyance at the Avatar, whom had once again voiced the opinion of fear for hurting her in some way. Ty Lee was a friend of his now, and he did not want to ruin it, or her. Mai would murder him if anything went wrong, and make sure he died slowly and painfully. So, obviously, he was cautious. "Besides, if it helps restore the balance of the world and that, then what's the problem?"
The Gang had listed off all the potential problems (Spiritual corruption was the worst fear), but the acrobat didn't really care, insisting on helping out with this new theory, literally being the guinea-sheep. But still...
Aang sighed softly. The time was nigh, and Autumn bestowed him strength and confidence, like Summer for Fire, Winter for Water and Spring for Earth. Count for being next to the Spirit Oasis of the North Pole (A little help for a previous friend and a previous comrade in war never hurt) and with Katara nearby, Aang felt all the energy and confidence he needed. But still, caution was within him.
With a soft sigh, he knelt down in front of a patiently waiting Ty Lee, her grey eyes trusting and intent, not on him, but on her own spiritual matters.
The Avatar withheld a nervous gulp, Energybending being such a foreign and unknown tool, as Katara gave him a reassuring nod, before he braced himself, indulging himself with the foreign power that no other bender had, the ancient art to manipulate the very energy of another person. As the power of the Spirit Oasis contributed to him, he gently rested his hands on Ty Lee's forehead and heart, the very centres of all her energy, just as he done with Ozai.
And there was light.